


Soulmates

by bruvebanner, roshytsunami



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk (2008), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 04:43:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3344042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bruvebanner/pseuds/bruvebanner, https://archiveofourown.org/users/roshytsunami/pseuds/roshytsunami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was suppose to be simple after getting cognitive re-calibration from Natasha. Go out kill the aliens, save the world, take a nap end of story. The throbbing in his wrist had other plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all so this is my first time use Ao3 to post my fanfic so please be nice as I try to figure out the format. This use to be an RP so if it seems a bit jumpy that might be why. Also let's give a round of applause to slowdancingangels for doing this RP with me. Anyway that's about it hope you all enjoy :)

His wrist was aching as he strung his arrow across the bow. It was typical, just his luck his soulmate would be strolling through the area of infested aliens. God he hoped it wasn't an alien because alien or uglier alien he didn't think he could find one of those things sexy. He releases his shot hitting one of the aliens through the eye and doesn't feel a loss of the pull in his wrist.

"Good that one's not my soulmate," he notches another arrow and let's it fly hitting another alien sending it crashing into the building. He reaches for another and curses in his head. He's out of arrows so he uses his bow as a weapon before making a quick get away with his grapple hook crashing through the window.

He rolls on his side cursing trying to get up. That one was going to leave a mark. He gets up and begins to track down his arrows and re-use them for the final battle.

His wrist pulls him to the window, not literally, and he catches a green blur and a blonde killing one of the alien worms.

"That narrows it down...hopefully it's the blonde," he says to himself getting strange stares from the people still in the building. He yells at them to move and get out as he heads back into the battle field again.

The Hulk had never cared very much for the pulling at his wrist, since it was insistent and aggravating every time he awoke—Puny Banner assumed it was because, as the Hulk, there was no place too far for him to go for his soulmate. So if the tug was more insistent than usual, he didn’t notice, not with things to smash all around and an entire playground to smash in.

But Bruce was a different story—because Bruce noticed the slightest breath of pressure on that wrist, and when he woke up after battle with an almighty TUG, there was no way he wouldn’t notice.

After the final battle Tony suggested shawarma across the coms and Clint shook his head gathering his arrows out of the dead aliens. He presses his com and says a quick copy. He didn’t care what he ate right now. He was starving and food was food. His wrist kept aching too as found the last of his arrows he shot during the battle, well most of his arrows.

He tries to ignore the pull put it in the back of his head because if what’s his name the blonde guy with lightening, Thor yeah. If that was his soulmate he’d have to take back that statement of all aliens are ugly.

He sighs as he enters the broken down shop and sits by Natasha who is by a slumped over Steve seems the others hadn’t arrived or were ordering the food.

He looks over her, “Nat my wrist is aching for you know what. Got any suppressors to numb it down? I just want to eat and sleep and not worry about that shit right now.” He slumps in the chair as she reaches into her suit of wonder and hands him a pill. Seriously she could hide a missile in there and no one would know. He swallows the pill dry and feels his wrist return to a dull throb. Much better than the pulsing heartbeat it was earlier.

“So how screwed am I now,” he grins at her as he sticks one of his legs on her chair to stretch it out.

He doesn’t have time for an answer as the other three members come to the table. Thor is carrying the trays of food and smiles as he drops them on the table saying to feast mighty warriors. Yeah Thor is going to have to learn to tone his voice down if this whole soulmate crap is going to work.

Tony is patting some guy on the back before Tony slumps in his chair and just begins to eat. Clint looks at the unknown guy and shrugs before he begins to eat. He is too tired to think about where this random guy came from. Hell Tony could be giving one of the workers a free meal with the Avengers, might do well to have some good PR compared to all the damage outside.

There was a terrible feeling roiling in Bruce’s chest as he trailed after Tony, dressed in some kind civilians change of clothes and feeling his entire body throb with each heartbeat—but not nearly as painfully acute as the feeling at his wrist, though, a feeling so strong it set his fingers to trembling.

His soulmate.

He could FEEL how close they were, how easy it would be to find them now, but he felt a distinct fear at the prospect. Because he was VOLATILE, he was absolutely acidic, and the idea of dragging someone he was supposed to love down with him? It was a horrible thought.

And when Tony stopped babbling, leading him into a building that hadn’t been destroyed completely, and slapped him on the back, Bruce almost didn’t notice the yank at his wrist that sent him stumbling into a seat, so fixed in his own thoughts he was.  
But then he felt IT, that feeling he’d heard described a hundred different times, the feeling he’d both longed and feared for so long he’d almost thought he’d never feel it—he FELT that connection zing, and went stock-still in his seat, unwilling to turn his gaze towards the person seated directly beside him. Because if he looked, then he’d never be able to avoid it. He wouldn’t be able to walk out and ignore that pull. If he looked, there’d be no turning back.

So he ignored his wrist, ignored the feeling entirely, and set himself upon his food, staring at the table as though it were the most interesting thing in the world, just as silent as the others in the room.

After the whole shawarma which wasn’t half bad all the Avengers made off to the tower compliments of Stark to get some sleep. Thor had taken Loki off the bike rake where he was tied up while they ate and threw him over his shoulder chains and all to his own room.

Clint looked at the scene and wondered how awkward it was going to be to say ‘yeah your brother mind fucked me and I almost blew his eye out but your my soulmate no hard feelings?’ Yeah that conversation was going to be a real eye opener, pun intended.

Strangely enough his wrist was pretty dull right now. He still felt the pull but not as strongly as he did before. Either the suppressants were working overtime or it was a false pull. It wouldn’t surprise him. He had felt the pull before during his missions over in Brazil and India before he felt nothing again. Either his soulmate traveled the world or used suppressants like he did sometimes.

He heads into one of the rooms and goes to the bathroom and takes a quick shower before getting into some cleaner clothes. Once that is done he heads out to the bedroom and sees the same guy from the shop before lying on the bed asleep. He shrugs his shoulders and gets in the bed not caring about the weird guy lying by him and falls asleep, because at that moment sleep was more important than questioning why this guy was in his bed. Clint hugs the pillow and falls asleep instantly.

It wasn’t hard to keep his head down, to keep quiet and unseen, for most of the rest of the night—he’d gone for years, unnoticed and invisible, and going one more day didn’t really mean much—and when they’d gotten back to the Tower he’d planned on doing nothing but packing and leaving. Because he wasn’t planning on sticking around, no matter how tempting a soulmate might be, no matter how hospitable Tony was, no matter what SHIELD assured about leaving him alone.

But it’d been so long since he’d changed, and it really was a taxing experience, and maybe, just maybe, his tired brain was following the tug of his wrist, because one minute he was planning how he could steal enough money for a fake passport and a plane ticket without feeling bad, and the next he was wandering into a random room of the Tower, feeling the weight of the transformation finally hit him like a ton of bricks, and he went down onto the bed without any thought for who it might belong to, conking out and forgetting any plan he may have had for leaving.

Clint was restless in the night and wakes up his suppressants hand wore off and his wrist was aching right beside him. He can’t see that well in the dark one he’s too tired to focus, and two seeing in the dark is bad for your eyesight and without his eyes he was just a regular guy shooting a bow.

He looks down and sees some blob shape and wraps his arm with his aching wrist around the person. His wrist begins to calm down until it’s a dull comforting throb. He snuggles against the person and falls right back to sleep for the night.

The next morning he wakes up in an empty bed with his wrist throbbing again. He yawns and rubs his head wondering if there really was a person in his bed last night or not. Maybe it was just a dream. He shrugs his shoulders and gets dressed for today is the day he’s going to see Loki sent off to space jail or some type of alien jail. He doesn’t know only that they are sending the little terd back into space with Thor.

Maybe he needs to talk to Thor or maybe not. His wrist wasn’t hurting as much last night or was that a dream too? He shakes his head and walks to the kitchen to make something to eat sunglasses on already for the export of one Loki. He just needs some coffee to wake up properly.

It was a miracle Bruce woke up long before the man pressed against him ever did. It was probably a testament to how tired he was, since he woke up far later than usual, and didn’t even stir with some strangers body pressed against him while he slept. But he managed to scramble out of bed, half-panicked and half-confused, only to find his impromptu snuggle partner still passed out, even as he tripped backwards and nearly went sprawling. He, very silently, crept from the room after that, calming his breathing as he recited the numbers of pi and went to seek out a cup of tea in whichever kitchen he could find in this labyrinth—only to be waylaid by Tony, suddenly grabbed around the shoulders as the fellow scientist declared they needed to get Bruce some clothes for this very important day of sending an asshole alien back to his homeland.

Natasha finds him in the kitchen already presentable and awake. Why, no better question is how she can do that. He’ll never ask and just call it a spider thing. He’ll never tell her that though. Once he’s drank enough coffee to wake up he drives with Natasha to the export site.

It was somewhere simple and nice and were they sending the asshole up in the park? Nice guys nice. There was Thor dragging Loki that brought a grin to his face. He looks over at Nat grinning before getting confused. He thinks for a minute he’s not feeling a pull or anything from Thor now weird. Maybe it was a faulty pull earlier.

There’s Tony and the weird guy from before and oh…ok weird guy it is then. He stops his hand from moving to his wrist that is pulling towards the yellow shirt guy. His eyes widen under his sunglasses but he still maintains his resting face as he watches the guy put the cube in whatever science box thing that is. Thor says goodbye and is shooting up in the air with Loki. Clint looks over at the guy in the yellow shirt through his shades not making a move as Natasha hands the guy a duffle bag.

So conclusion is that guy in the yellow shirt is your soulmate Clint. Does that make me curious George then? Nah that guy was wearing a yellow hat not a shirt. He looks over at Nat, “Natasha who’s the guy in the yellow shirt?”

Natasha’s explanation of one Bruce Banner is served up pretty quick and painless—‘Bruce Banner, aka the man who turns into a giant green beast and smashes everything, aka super genius of the century’—and she shrugs, disinterested, since she’s already been introduced to ALL sides of the man.  
  
But meanwhile Bruce was gripping his duffel tight and trailing after Tony to his car, feeling his wrist throb. His soulmate, standing mere feet away from him, and there hadn’t been even the slightest flicker of recognition? Was Bruce delirious? Was he imagining the pull, or was the man simply not feeling what Bruce felt? Was that even POSSIBLE?

But none of that mattered, Bruce supposed—it would be for the BEST that he avoided him, that the man simply didn’t KNOW, because then it would be that much easier to run like the fugitive he was and keep from hurting anyone.  
Even though he had Tony, rambling insistently about how Bruce could stay at the Tower and they could be science Bros and they definitely needed to be friends for life; Bruce knew he couldn’t stay. He couldn’t have SHIELD breathing down his neck, so close, didn’t want to hurt anyone, just wanted to go back to India and continue the good deeds he was doing there.

And that’s what he told himself he’d do, over and over, as he slid his bag into Tony’s car and sat down, hunching in on himself and trying to keep his resolve, forcing himself not to look back at the man he was supposed to fall in love with—and ignoring the pain in his wrist that increased as he moved farther away.

Clint listens to Natasha and sighs looking down at his wrist. “You sure know how to pick’em Clint.” He feels the pull weakening and looks up seeing the car drive away. “Nat where is Tony taking him,” he asks making a drastic decision as he got in the car she drove up.

Nat doesn’t say anything and just tells Clint to get in as she follows Tony’s car to the airport. He watches Tony park the car in the terminal temporary parking. Before Natasha’s car is even parked, Clint is opening the door and tripping on the road getting a minor road rash. He shakes it off and stumbles up to the man in the yellow shirt who is holding onto the duffle bag.

“Uh hi my name’s Clint,” he said lamely. Really what do you say to your soulmate?

Yes, leaving. That’s what Bruce was going to do. (He spent the entire trip to the airport half-convincing himself to change his mind) But it was for the best, of course it was. His soulmate would be much better off without him.  
He hadn’t expected his soulmate to come after him—he’d been sure leaving with Tony would be the end of it. But as he got out of the car and gripped his duffel bag tight, he found himself suddenly yanked around by the pull at his wrist and facing the very man he’d been trying to avoid.

“I, um, yes, hello,” was all he managed out as he realized he hadn’t ever asked the man’s name of anyone. Clint. It sounded…Nice. Perfect, actually.  
Oh god. “I-I’m Bruce.” He didn’t offer his hand, just stared wide-eyed and tried to keep his emotions in check.

Clint smirks and takes a real good look at Bruce before sighing, “well hey there Bruce were you not going to say anything? I thought blondie Thor was the guy but instead it’s you freckles,” he smiles. He hopes it didn’t come out mean.

He rubs the back of his neck nervous, “uh sorry that came out wrong. It’s kinda neat you’re my soulmate but nice to meet ya. You wanna grab a coffee or something before you leave,” he asked pointing his thumb inside the airport.

“You can catch your flight back wherever if you want.”

Bruce ducks his head; feeling abashed at the easy-going attitude Clint exudes, while he’s having a minor crisis over his sudden discovery of a soulmate.

When he looks back at Clint, his face is red and he rubs his hands anxiously together, trying to straighten from his slouch, “I didn’t mean to- I was- I-” He breaks off, shaking his head, before he shrugs one slumped shoulder. “Sure. Let’s grab some coffee.”

Clint watches Bruce’s signs of nervousness so he wraps an arm around his shoulder and walks with him into the airport to get coffee. He stops at the first coffee shop and orders a coffee for himself. It’s not that great but he just needed time to talk to Bruce.

They seriously should make a book or movie yeah movie would be better for Clint on how to talk to your soulmate because he was just sitting starring at the man across from him drink his voodoo tea or whatever weird tea it was called. He’s getting restless as he taps his foot against his chair.

“So soulmates huh…never thought it would happen. Life is too dangerous for Shield agents what about you,” he asks sipping his coffee.

Bruce sipped silently at his tea, sitting very still as he watched his own hands, trying to shake off his nervousness. This was his soulmate, sitting right across from him—he shouldn’t have felt so frightened.

“I thought I was too broken for a soulmate,” he blurts, before he can stop himself, and quickly clears his throat, looking towards Clint, but not necessarily at him. “After the…Uh…Accident.” After he turned into a raging killing machine, is more like it. A monster doesn’t get happy endings and true love—that was the prince and the princess’ thing.

Clint raises an eyebrow at what Bruce blurted out. Before he can say anything Bruce continues.

“Yeah it was called an accident for a reason. So the other guy or Hulk whatever he calls himself is he my soulmate too? No offense or anything but I don’t think I could hug the guy if he asked,” he laughs nervously before catching sight of Bruce.

“Uh sorry words aren’t my thing. Arrows and bows yeah but talking to a soulmate not good at. I meant my arms are too tiny…anyway what’s the green guy like? I felt the pull when him and Thor were riding the alien worm…kind of why I didn’t even think to ask you about anything. Plus I thought you were a random person eating with us at the shawarma place,” he sighs rubbing the back of his before picking at his fingers nervous. Well he already started the story mind as well finish it.

“I thought it was Thor then it wasn’t and I had no clue who you were. I thought you were just a random science dude caught up in the mess so getting the idea of you being the other guy or Hulk has been on my mind since the drive here…and the fact you’re my soulmate too.”

He struggles to gather his thoughts so he doesn’t say something wrong or stupid, “so I guess what I’m asking is what do you want to do about it? I’m fine with the idea as long as I can still work and you won’t freak out on me going on missions. Plus you’re the Hulk basically indestructible so I don’t have to worry as much about you. I mean I’d worry about you but if someone came after you, you could handle your own and smash them if you need to. Damn I’ve been rambling awhile and haven’t heard a peep from you. Is this making any sense or am I babbling I do that sometimes…from boredom, serious conversations,” he closes his lips tightly and looks over at Bruce for an answer.

Bruce blinks at Clint and follows his wild train of thought, not trying to interrupt as he observes his soulmate. Soulmate. This guy? But he seemed so…energetic? Slightly chaotic, actually, and absolutely nothing like Bruce himself. But Bruce could almost feel himself smiling as the man rambled on, blundering through blindly, and he could understand why he might fall in love with him.

“Well, uh…” He looked down at his tea again, swirling the dredges at the bottom. “The Other Guy, he—I don’t know if the soulmate thing applies to him, he’s not—well, he’s not like people? He’s, uh, single-minded, not very caring, so I doubt he’s affected by it. You wouldn’t have to worry.” But there Bruce paused, frowning at his drink, and shook his head.

“But this…This isn’t safe, god, what am I even thinking? I can’t…I can’t /have/ a soulmate, I’m /dangerous/. You’d…You’d be better off without me, I mean…” He finally glanced up at Clint, brown eyes sad. “I’d be more of a burden than anything; you’d…” He swallowed his words, turned back to his tea, trying to focus on his resolve. He wasn’t /allowed/ to have this, and he couldn’t risk it. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone,” he mumbled, gripping his cup too tight and scowling.

Clint frowns and reaches for Bruce’s hand awkwardly but spills Brue’s drink instead. “Ah shit sorry Bruce. I was trying to do the hand thingy and well yeah,” he hands him some napkins. “I didn’t burn you did I?”

“Um so anyway yeah,” he rubs the back of his head. “You see Shield is never safe so you being the Hulk ain’t that big a deal. I mean don’t use him as an excuse to not have what you wanna have is what I’m trying to say.” He shrugs his shoulders and looks over at him nervously. “Those aliens the other day yeah those guys were dangerous but you nah. You just have a dangerous side…maybe a little exaggerated but he saved Tony or that’s what Tony was saying earlier so he can’t be all bad.”

He sighs and looks into Bruce’s eyes nervous, “so what do you say? You can run off if you want and I’ll just get on suppressants or some shit for a few months and forget about it or we can try it out and see what happens. I really don’t know how to do this whole soulmate thing but I feel calmer around you…not the blue haze calm from the staff but calm if that makes sense.”

Bruce wiped up the spilled tea, almost oblivious to it as he listened to Clint, glancing up at the man more fully as he spoke. He wasn’t…Scared. He wasn’t scared of Bruce at all—he was nervous about the soulmate deal, but he wasn’t frightened. Bruce couldn’t wrap his head around it. And he /wanted/ Bruce, if only because he was his soulmate. And, above all of that, he was giving Bruce…A choice. Bruce never got to choose—it wasn’t in the cards for a life like his. But Clint was letting him choose. Choose whatever he wanted.

“I…” He paused, resting his hands on the table and contemplating reaching for Clint’s own hand, though nervousness kept him back. “I think I could…Try. This, I mean. If you, um, really are okay with it. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t really want to…But I could try.”

Clint listens to Bruce and pulls off one of his charming grins and grabs Bruce’s hand this time, “yeah we could try it out and see what happens. So you wanna cancel your flight and come back to my place?”

Bruce felt a heat crawl across his cheeks, freckles standing out against the red blush, before he nodded feebly and smiled, small and sweet, at Clint, carefully intertwining their fingers. “Sure, yeah. I can do that.”

Clint smiles and gives him a peck on the cheek, “you’re cute when you blush Bruce.” He smiles and rubs his thumb over Bruce’s hand as they walk outside the airport.

Bruce follows Clint with a bashful smile, and he’s still conflicted on whether or not this is a good idea at all, but he can’t say he isn’t enjoying himself with his…Soulmate.


End file.
